


Taking a break can be strenuous if you don’t portal

by Malecfan09



Series: Malec husband & family one-shots [5]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood is a strong man, Caring Alec Lightwood, Established Relationship, Fluff, Good husbands, Grumpy Alec Lightwood, Happy Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Husbands, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Magnus Bane is a Hero, Magnus Bane is tired, Mountain walking, WWII, sunrise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29920035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malecfan09/pseuds/Malecfan09
Summary: A decision to go to the Pyrenees, via a little memory from Magnus’s past, results in husband bonding and a beautiful view.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Malec husband & family one-shots [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2171355
Comments: 8
Kudos: 16





	Taking a break can be strenuous if you don’t portal

**Author's Note:**

> This was going to be something entirely different but ended up writing its own story, so what can you do? 
> 
> Big thanks to my beta @lilyofwalley who is such a great support 💜 check out her fics too.
> 
> None of the characters are mine, of course, they belong to the great Cassandra Clare. Any mistakes are mine alone and I own them completely.

It is late and Alec and Magnus are sprawled across the couch, legs intertwined with Magnus resting his head on Alec’s shoulder. It has been a long day, the kids are finally asleep and they can chill for a while before heading to bed. Alec is flicking through the programs on the television when suddenly Magnus asks him to stop. His attention is caught by a snowy mountain scene with a woman wearing a large woolly sweater, woollen pants with gaiters and climbing boots. She has a woolly hat on her head and her hands encased in big mittens. She has a smallish rucksack over her shoulders. All that is not so very surprising considering the weather where she is. What really caught Magnus’s eye is that the woman is followed by a small group of people who are definitely not dressed for the snowy, winter conditions. They are a rag-tag group of men, women and children, wearing very inappropriate clothing for the time of year and clearly struggling to keep up with the woman in front.

“What is it Magnus? What do you see that interests you?” Alec is surprised as the scene doesn’t look particularly attention-grabbing to him.

Magnus settles back in Alec’s arms and hums. He suddenly feels rather emotional. He hasn’t thought about this particular time in his life for over half a century and to be suddenly confronted with it like this has taken him aback a little. He shifts his head to look at Alec and starts to talk.

“This scene, these people….Alec, have you heard of the mundane war called the Second World War? No, don’t worry, you don’t need to answer, I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t. It was well before you were born. It was a war spread over continents that took place between 1939 and 1945. Millions of mundanes died in this war and millions more were made homeless. It even affected the Shadow World to some extent as we got caught up in the violence. For everyone’s sakes, let’s hope it never happens again. I was in Europe at the time, living in Paris actually. I shared a flat with Catarina who was a nurse in the Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu, not far from the Louvre. I was going through an arty phase at the time and had a studio in Montmartre.

When war broke out everyone thought we’d be fine until the Nazis started getting close to Paris and then is was a mad exodus. Catarina refused to leave, said nurses would be needed, so of course I stayed too. Well, to cut a long story short, I ended up in the resistance, acting as a _passeur_ , helping airmen who had been shot-down, Jews who hadn’t been able to get out earlier, people persecuted because of their sexuality, race or disability and anyone else who needed to escape from Paris. My magic helped enormously of course as I could shield them from the view of the police and the army. Not that they knew that. It wouldn’t have been a good idea to let mundanes know about my magic but I developed various magical techniques to make their escape easier. I was part of a large _passeur_ network. We didn’t know many of the others in the chain, just in case someone got caught. A few of the people I helped made their way east to Switzerland but the majority headed south, through the Petain-governed part of France and into Spain by way of the Pyrenees. In the winter I did what I could to provide them with the correct clothing and shoes but they had a long journey from Paris and sometimes things had to be sold to survive. This scene just reminded me of that awful time in my life. Thankfully hundreds if not thousands of people were helped by the network, though sadly many _passeurs_ were captured and didn’t see the end of the war.”

Alec was listening with all his attention and kept placing little kisses on Magnus’s forehead as he spoke. His eyes were glistening by the end and he felt all the pain that Magnus was trying to dampen down.

“Oh Magnus, what a sad tale but what an amazing thing to do for other people. Have you ever been back to Paris?”

“Oh, yes, several times in fact. It actually holds very many good memories for me, from before the war. I lived quite the bohemian lifestyle I’ll have you know. Made quite a name for myself in the Downworlder and the Mundane communities. I’d really like to take you there one day, maybe with the kids. Re-discover the magic of Paris together. Hmmm, luckily the war didn’t end my fascination and love of the city…..But you know where I have never been and where I think I’d like to go, to remember those that died and celebrate those that got out? The Pyrenees.”

******

“Goodness me! I’m sure I was a lot fitter in the 1940’s! Not that I actually walked in these mountains but well..” Magnus huffs and puffs as the two men climb, slowly but surely, the mountain path that zig-zags past a stunning waterfall.

“You’re fit enough for me” Alec turns to look back at Magnus, a hot gaze raking his face.

“Are you flirting with me Alexander?” Magnus looks up at Alec with his eyebrows in the air and gives him a wink.

“Might be…” Alec grins back and settles the rucksack on his back.

“You continue to surprise me, my darling. And also how you just seem to be able to waltz up this mountainside as if it is no effort at all.”

“Shadowhunter…but I’ll leave the waltzing to you love.” Alec is indeed barely out of breath and he feels fantastic. The clean air, the sound of the birds, the rush of the waterfall, the golden brown colours of the beech trees are all so soothing to his mind.

“Of course, silly me, stamina rune and all that. Well, hope you keep some for later, I might need a free ride.” Magnus is feeling a little tired…already…and they aren’t even half-way to the refuge yet.

“Are you flirting with me now Magnus? I’m not sure you’ll have the energy left to do anything but sleep when we get to the refuge.”

“Well there is that of course but actually, for once, I was thinking about something much less sexual, or at least I was until you put the thought into my head! Erm, actually…, I’m just not sure I’ll make it to the refuge on my own steam.” Magnus is rather embarrassed that he is so much more tired than he had anticipated. He is discovering muscles he never knew he had and his lungs are definitely starting to burn. He does rather love this climb though. It offers him an unhindered view of his husband’s backside and that is something to be cheerful about.

Another three hours of climbing, the Refuge d’Estagnous is in sight. Magnus is now wearing the rucksack and Alec is wearing Magnus. He is still as nimble as a mountain goat and seems indefatigable. Magnus feels all his four hundred plus years. The refuge is closed for the season but with a little flick of his wrist the door unlocks and one tired warlock and one energetic shadowhunter can go inside. Magnus magics up a fire and some food with the last of his energy, after which Alec has to physically help him get undressed and into some lovely warm sleeping bags that Alec had carried in the rucksack. Magnus had been against bringing anything, saying he could magic up anything they needed but Alec was insistent that they carry at least sleeping bags as otherwise it wouldn’t feel like a proper mountain hut trip. And isn’t Magnus glad that he did as he really doesn’t have a wisp of magic left in him after such a strenuous day. Before they tuck in for the night they make a quick call to the boys who are staying with Jace and then collapse into a deep sleep.

They wake up in the dark, get dressed and eat a light breakfast because Magnus has managed to persuade Alec that they need to see the sun rise from the top of the Mont Valier. While mornings are most definitely not his thing, Alec knows that Magnus really wants to show him this and the thing is, Alec can’t say no to his husband. So here he is, at some ungodly hour in the morning, stumbling around, eyes half shut, trying to get his clothes on the right way round at the same time as inhaling a hot mug of coffee. Magnus is tellingly quiet, knowing that he needs to let his darling shadowhunter adjust to the early morning before expecting any verbal brain activity to take place. So they get themselves ready in silence, or near silence, as Alec mutters a few curses now and then.

Finally they are out the door, headlamps shining to mark the way. They have a two-hour walk ahead of them and dawn is in just under three hours so they should be there with time to spare. Apart from a surprise visit by a hare that leaps across the path just ahead of them and manages to elicit another curse from his husband’s mouth, Magnus is pleased that they make it to the top in good time and unscathed. They find a spot where they can look to the east and are out of the cool wind that is blowing from the west. As the sky gradually lightens, the sun starts to peek above the horizon and then streaks of orange and yellow and pink fan out over the mountains in front of them, creating some kind of surrealistic painting. They watch it unfold, spell-bound by the beauty and the sheer magnificence of mother-nature. Magnus leans his head on his husband’s shoulder and squeezes the hand clasped in his. It has been a while since he has felt this kind of peace and as he thinks of those who made it over these mountains and those who didn’t, he hopes that wherever they are now, they too have found peace.

**Author's Note:**

> If you have actually ended up reading this then thank you, I am sure many will have stopped at the history lesson! I read a book about the passeurs a few years ago and it came to mind when I decided to write about a trip to the Pyrenees and then the story kind of wrote itself.
> 
> The passeurs were an amazing group of people, often very young, who were part of the resistance and helped ‘pass’ people across the borders, hence their name. 
> 
> I’d love to know what you think about this fic.


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